


Dangling

by Aloe_kun



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Blood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Difficult situations, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Head Injury, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Medicine, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Panic, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 18:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18429959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloe_kun/pseuds/Aloe_kun
Summary: Asra finds himself in a predicament. Luckily his ever worrying partner is there to help (even if it is sort of his fault).





	1. Predicament

Dangling from a tree by his ankle wasn't the wierdest position Asra had ever been in. Unexpected and uncomfortable, certainly. But not the wierdest.

He had been on his way to see Muriel, hoping to lend a hand with renewing the protective charms around the area and maybe some various other menial tasks about the place. He knew Muriel appreciated the help, even if he didn't always say so, and Asra was simply happy to spend some time around him. He'd spotted a cluster of orange bolettes just a little off the path that he hadn't noticed before. In his curiosity he'd taken just a few steps over to take a look and see if they really were what he thought they were, then had suddenly found the ground violently pulled from under him and the world flipping upside down in such a way that it made his head swim. There was a dull ache at the base of his skull where his head had briefly hit the ground, but although it was sore, it was just about ignorable. He struggled a little to gain his bearings in his new position. Looking at the forest upside down was different, but he supposed it didn't look so bad. Quite interesting, actually. But he had slightly more important things to be focusing on,

He managed to pull himself up enough to get a look at the knot around his ankle. It was a complex one for definite, and he didn't even think about trying to undo it. He didn't want to burn the rope with magic, even though it would technically work. But then he'd have the much bigger problem of a magic forest fire on his hands. It was no contest. He'd rather deal with hanging from a tree than that. His core was aching a little from holding him up at the odd angle so he relaxed and just let himself dangle. He briefly thought that maybe he could cut the rope, but then remembered that his knife was in his bag, which was sitting on the ground beneath him. That wasn't ideal.

It was then that he realised how far off the ground he was. A good few feet at least, enough to have his bag well out of reach. This was turning into quite the predicament.

He heard a rustling from a fair distance away and froze, not that he could move much. If that was whoever set this, he probably didn't want them to see that he'd been caught. But on the other hand, it was pretty likely to be Muriel. Not many people came out into this neck of the woods, so the odds were likely in his favour. But still, if it wasn't him, it could get ugly. He decided to push his luck.

"Muriel?" He called in the direction of the noise. "Is that you?"

There was stretch of silence in which Asra began to grow nervous, then a rustling that made his heart leap into his throat. Then the bushes on the other side of the path parted and Muriel's familiar face emerged from between them, quickly taking on an expression of shock.

"Asra? What are you doing here?" He was by his side in an instant, fretting.

"Just doing my best apple impression, can't you see?" Asra joked. "Do you know who might have set these?"

In that instant, the colour seemed to drain from Muriel's face. "...I forgot to tell you. I set them and I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry..."

"Well, I know now." Asra chuckled softly, awkwardly reaching out to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Can you get me down?"

Muriel looked to the knot around Asra's ankle, then to the one securing it to the branch above. "... I'll need to cut it up there. Do you... Have a knife?"

"Yes, in my bag. The little pocket on the left." Asra nodded and Muriel knelt down and retrieved the knife. "That's the one."

"I wont be able to catch you..." Muriel mumbled as he got a foothold on the tree, hoisting himself up onto the thick branch that the rope was tied around. "Sorry. Brace yourself."

"Right, don't worry."

The knife was sharp and didn't take long to slice through the rope, even as thick as it was. Asra was prepared but couldn't help but gasp as he fell a little further than he thought he would and hit the ground suddenly. The jolt seemed reignite the pain at his head and he cradled the back of his skull with a hand as he sat up, adjusting to everything being the right way up again. Muriel jumped down and hit the ground with a heavy thud and the knife was hurriedly placed on top of Asra's bag as he rushed to kneel by him, concern evident all over his face.

"Are you..." His eyes were darting about, checking every inch of him for any injury. "Are you ok, Asra?"

Asra smiled softly. "I'm fine. I'm just disoriented, really."

He moved his hand from it's place at the back of his head in what he hoped would be a reassuring gesture. But as he turned his palms up, he blinked rapidly at the sight of red on his palm. Muriel seemed to notice as well before he could hide it. He didn't think it was possible for him to look any more worried, but it seemed he was wrong.

"You're bleeding...!" Muriel looked positively distraught. His hands hovering, unsure, as if he wanted to help but was scared to touch him. "You're hurt, it's my fault, I should have told you-"

"Muriel." Asra wiped his hand on his grass and took one of Muriel's trembling hands in both of his. "I'll be fine. It's just a scratch."

He didn't know if that was strictly true; he couldn't see the injury, after all. But for the sake of calming Muriel down, he assumed he'd be fine.

"I still could have stopped it. I should have come and told you, I at least should have been able to catch you, I-"

Asra squeezed his hand slightly. It was pretty clear he was starting to panic, and that wouldn't help either of them. He have him a reassuring smile.

"It's fine Muriel. I'm fine. Please, calm down." He said soothingly. "Breathe."

Muriel tensed for a moment as Asra moved a hand to cup his cheek, then relaxed into it. Asra smiled in relief as he felt him breathe out slowly, the air brushing his wrist.

"I'm sorry..." He mumbled.

"And I forgive you." Asra drew away slowly, then stood. He swayed slightly, and Muriel was soon on his feet next to him, ready to catch him. His eagerness to keep him safe was sweet. "I'm alright." He chuckled softly. "Let's go back to yours."

He turned his back on Muriel to pick up his bag, tucking the knife on top of it away safely. He heard a sharp inhale from behind him, and cast a look over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's just..." Muriel looked guilty. "There's blood all over the back of your head... It..."

"It probably looks worse than it is, ameli." He slung his bag over your shoulder. "Once we get it cleaned up, we can see how bad it is, okay?

"...Okay."

"I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. Lead the way."

Asra smiled and took hold of Muriel's hand, staying just a little behind him so he couldn't look at the blood and start overthinking it again.

Well, that and the fact that he still didn't know where the traps were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is mostly medical stuff that spread my existing knowledge extremely thin and fluff


	2. Care

"Ow..." Asra couldn't help but wince as the warm, wet cloth made contact with the injury. "That stings..."

"Sorry."

"Ah, it's not your fault ameli." He soothed. "Blame the rock I hit it on."

They had made it back to Muriel's hut after a fairly uneventful walk, which involved watching the ground carefully and one extremely close call where Asra had stepped right next to a loop of rope and had to be unceremoniously tugged away by the back of the shirt. Muriel had of course apologized profusely for 'manhandling' him, but had since been assured that it did no harm.

Asra had sat quietly and patiently in front of the fire where Muriel was warming some water up to clean his head with. He had offered to heat it with magic, but the offer had been refused with a mumbling of how he didn't want to strain him. It wouldn't have been any bother, but he humoured him and simply sat and waited. That brought them to now, with Asra's shirt discarded so it wouldn't get wet and Muriel behind him, gingerly dabbing at the blood with a cloth.

They stayed mostly in silence that was only broken with the splashing of water when Muriel rinsed the cloth, and occasionally a wince followed quickly by an apology, then an reassurance. Gradually there was less red on the white of Asra's hair and more of it swirling in the water, until near all of the blood had been wiped away to expose a fairly small wound, not serious but still bleeding lazily.

"You've gone quite quiet back there." Asra refrained from turning his head, but still looked to the side. "Is everything alright?"

"...It's still bleeding." Muriel said finally. He pressed the cloth to it gently. "Can you hold that in place? Sorry."

"That's alright." Asra lifted a hand up to do as he was asked, shivering as he felt a rivulet of water run down his back. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah... One second."

Asra peeked over his shoulder to watch as Muriel sorted through various small pots and jars on a shelf near the entrance, occasionally picking one up to look inside or smell the contents. Eventually he picked one and came back over to him, unscrewing the lid.

"...This might sting. I'm not sure." Muriel admitted, taking the cloth from the other's hand. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Just go ahead."

He sat still as Muriel applied the paste like substance to the wound. It stung a little bit initially, but after that he hardly felt it after. There was soon a sort of pleasant numbness over the area, taking away the pain of the wound.

"That smells familiar..." He wondered aloud, smiling.

"It's the same mix you used on me all the time." Muriel nodded. "When we were kids."

"Ah, that one. What did we call it back then?"

"... I can't remember."

"It was probably something silly. Refresh my memory, what went into that? I remember there was tumeric, and honey, but there was something else. Ideas?"

"...Limestone powder... I think." Muriel suggested finally as he drew his hand away, satisfied with the coverage on the wound.

"That's right! And the numbing effect, that's acmella oleracea." He looked over his shoulder to see Muriel giving him a quizzical look. "I think I called them something else when we were younger. Tingflowers, or something similar to that."

"Tingflowers... That sounds right."

Muriel stood to put the jar back, and retrieve a roll of cloth for use as bandages. Asra was glad that he seemed to have taken his mind off the injury. He didn't seem to be fretting so much, now.

"I should make up a batch of that." He continued as Muriel unrolled a length of cloth, internally debating if it was long enough or not. "I think I saw dried tingflowers in the market recently, too."

Muriel looked up. "They still work when they're dried?"

"Not quite as well I find, but yes."

"Oh...Maybe I'll get some."

He began to wrap the cloth carefully around Asra's head until he was happy with it. Satisfied that it would hold, he secured it and stood to set the remainder of the roll to the side on a shelf. When he looked back Asra had turned to face him, looking up at him from the floor with a smile. Muriel blushed and looked off to the side.

"Are you... Are you okay?" He asked, taking a few steps over to the bed and sitting down cross legged. Asra stood and followed him over.

"I'm just fine ameli, thanks to you." Asra gently placed a hand on his shoulder, heat tilted in the direction of his lap. "May I?"

"...Yeah."

Asra chuckled and clambered into Muriel's lap, settling quickly. He looked up at him from his new, comfortable position and smiled, closing his eyes and staying still expectantly. Muriel rolled his eyes and let slip a tiny smile that Asra didn't see before pressing a brief kiss to his lips. Asra hummed contentedly against him before he pulled away, then opted to rest his head on Muriel's shoulder.

"Thanks for that."

Muriel paused with an eyebrow raised. "...The kiss?"

"I meant for patching me up." Asra laughed softly. "But thank you for the kiss as well."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to each other breathe and at some point the rain that began hitting the roof until Muriel, surprisingly, spoke first.

"Why... were you coming to see me today?"

"Would it be so wrong just wanting to see you?" Asra chuckled.

"It's not like I don't like having you here... But was there a reason?"

Asra thought back, then perked up. "Ah, I was going to help you renew the protective charms."

"...Oh. They run out soon?"

"I'd give them another few days yet. I just thought we might get ahead with them so they didn't get too weak. We could do them now, if you want?"

"... It's raining. You'll catch a cold."

"Ah, I forgot about that." He paused a moment, listening to the rain on the roof. "Oh well, I suppose it can wait until morning. I'll just have to stay here."

"...That's not so bad."

"Oh, but it is!" Asra smirked and dramatically 'fainted'. "Spending the whole night alone with someone I love? How will I manage?"

Muriel cracked a tiny smile. "Tragic."

"Isn't it?" Asra laughed. "Maybe I should go to the theatre less, I Julian's theatrically is rubbing off on me."

Muriel rolled his eyes as Asra settled back against him, carefully putting an arm around him and holding him close as he lay back, taking him with him until they were both lying down. Asra had to shimmy a bit to get comfortable again but soon gave a pleased hum and relaxed, finding the weight of Muriel's arm on him a pleasant comfort.

"Let me know if it starts to hurt again."

"Oh? So you can kiss it better?" Asra looked up with a devilish little smile, delighting in how Muriel blushed.

"No...So I can put on more of that remedy." He tried hard to keep a frown on his face, but it was proving difficult.

"Would you if I asked nicely?" Asra bargained.

"...Maybe."

He laughed and nuzzled into the crook of Muriel's neck. "I'll keep that in mind."

Muriel looked down at him fondly. "...Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams, ameli."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.
> 
> I used a couple of articles to try and make this fic accurate, so here they are if you're interested:
> 
> https://www.arabamerica.com/12-ways-express-love-arabic/
> 
> https://food.ndtv.com/health/7-effective-home-remedies-to-heal-open-wounds-1817835
> 
> https://www.feathersinthewoods.com/2017/07/how-to-grow-and-use-toothache-plant.html?m=1

**Author's Note:**

> God I love these two so much, they're just so adorable. I've been meaning to write this for a little while now and finally got around to it. 🖤


End file.
